for more information just log on to our website, wjla.com. we've got another hour of news that start right now. "live, and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> -- the video from the advanced u.s. spy drone toured in 2011. >> we are sure the cia has the tools it needs. >> the obama administration's use of drones could have an impact on the john brennan confirmation. >> you can pretend you won an oscar. take a look -- oscar is in the building and we are rolling out the red carpet here at wjla. we have details on how you can get a weekend with a golden

statue. >> i will be down there. >> you got that right. good morning to you, washington. >> let's check in with jacqui jeras and talk about the weather because it will be a busy 48 hours. >> we will see a little action tonight but overall it will not be a huge event for us. it is a big deal for folks in the northeast. we're starting out with cloudiness today, 32 degrees and a cloudy day overall. it is the calm before the storm. the coastal system will arrive with moisture late tonight and we will likely get a wintry mix north and west of the metro and will change to rain tomorrow morning. we are expecting only 1/2 of an inch at best. for today, we are expecting cloudy conditions and some brightness this morning, 36 degrees at 9:00 and 41 degrees

at 5:00. a good-looking weekend ahead and we will give you details coming up. >> we have a problem on the maryland beltway for commuters through college park and silver spring. this is on the elderly and leaving college park the crash is after 29/colesville road but before georgia ave. two lanes are blocked. we are backed up to new hampshire ave. no problems on the rest of the beltway. >> thanks so much. maryland state police found a man who was hit by a car in bowie. the 39-year-old was walking north in the southbound lanes of 301. it was a little after 1:00 a.m.

and the driver stayed at the scene and the investigation continues this morning. >> iranian state tv is broadcasting a video allegedly taken from the cia r2-1 70 drone that they claimed to have captured. they say this shows an airport and the drone landing. there is also footage of where it crash landed. iran says it took control of the drone and u.s. officials say had malfunctioned. this latest claim comes just after the u.s. drone program is falling under heavy scrutiny. >> lawmakers will grow the man obama picked to be the next day a director. john gonzales has more. >> the big issue here on capitol

hill today will be the u.s. drones that killed thousands of tourists but have taken the lives of more than 300 civilians. president barack obama's pick 4 cia director john brennan will be on a hot seat. republicans and democrats this afternoon will likely demand answers about the use of on manned drones. >> suggest to you that these targeted strike against al-qaeda terrorists are indeed, ethical and just that he is the administration's point person on drones the man who signs off on the kill list. the use of drones has grown 700% under barack obama. >> if we are too casual about it, we will forget how much scar tissue we build up in those countries. >> the white house defends the drones but has agreed to turn

over classified documents to lay out how the program works. one document comes directly from the justice department that says even without clear evidence, an american-born terrorist poses a threat then we kill. >> thank you. we have just learned that a nato helicopter has crashed in eastern afghanistan. >> let's go to jummy olabanji. >> the isaf says all crew members on that helicopter had been recovered and are no fatalities. they are not releasing where the crash happened but they say the site is secure. they have not released the nationalities of those on board but we know that the aircraft as part of a u.s.-led coalition. the taliban as claiming responsibility saying it was their fighters that shot the helicopter down. we will continue to monitor the situation and give you details.

>> thanks so much. president obama gives a speech at the 61st annual national prayer breakfast this morning. 3000 people from 140 countries are expected. they will attend and vice president joe biden and the first lady will be there. every president since eisenhower has addressed the gathering. >> big developments in the chandra levy murder case -- the man convicted of the case, ingmar guandique, goes back to court today. >> brianne carter has more. >> ingmar guandique is expected to be back in d.c. in a courtroom for a hearing scheduled for later this afternoon. we understand this hearing is to discuss some new developments in this case. back in 2001, chandra levy vanished from her apartment and one year later, her remains were found in a secluded area in rock creek park in years after that, ingmar guandique was convicted.

in the hearing today, they will discuss only what is being called new developments. the judge has not released any of the details citing safety concerns. there is not a lot of details about what these new developments might entail. yesterday, attorneys argued for the public to be able to be inside the courtroom during the hearing scheduled for later today. we believe the judge will make a ruling on whether that will be allowed to happen right before the hearing set for this afternoon. >> we will keep a close eye on that case. 31 degrees and still ahead -- we are bracing for a big snowstorm in the northeast. >> they could be a record-

>> good morning washington thanks to all the hard work they are doing and we would love to hear from you so send us a video of your "good morning washington"green tin. make it 10-15 minutes long. >> it is time for us to talk about whether because it will be a busy day to the north of us but we will get some action, jacqui jeras has more. >> it is late tonight into tomorrow but today it will be

calm ahead of the storm. 33 degrees right now, the winds are calm so that is good news. many of us still have temperatures in the 20's outside the district. the clouds are beginning to move into the area and they will thicken up throughout the day. we have rain coming at us from the southwest and snow coming at us from the north and these will merge to gather to make a big northeaster for the weekend really heading in new aid and hard. -- heading to new england hard. across the great lakes, this system will move in and most carriers will allow you to change your ticket if you have flight plans and to the north east this weekend. contact your carrier individually. cloudy skies today highs and the lower 40's and we will have more details on the storm coming

up. >> it is still pretty decent in virginia and the nation's capital. at new hampshire avenue, heading north down toward the beltway, fire and rescue is responding to this incident reported to have a pedestrian struck northbound new hampshire avenue prior to the beltway. they have northbound traffic stopped but southbound is getting by. around the beltway we have the crash and the elderly westbound between colesville road and georgia avenue. two lanes are blocked and it involved a box truck. if that is with us for some time, that will be sure to back up 95. >> thanks so much. 6:12 and 31 degrees and coming

up, we are checking in on oscar. >> the bottom whether you're a ham & cheese at noon a turkey-cheddar-bacon in the afternoon or a tuna salad when the job is done sandwich on your terms with any of dunkin's freshly made bakery sandwiches for just $2.99. america runs on dunkin'.

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>> 6:14 and we are learning about a bizarre case in crime that took place in northeast washington that involve the d.c. cabdriver. >> is cap was stolen and jummy olabanji has more. >> we just found out about this from the police, it happened at 2:00 for a cab driver was taking a group of people home along new york avenue in northeast when they began arguing inside the cab. the cab driver stopped the car and said they have to get out of the car and police say one of the people stole a car from the cob driver. he got out of the car to get that card back and was punched in the face and another passenger stole the car and drove away. the cabdriver was able to call police right away and within minutes, they were able to track down the car and arrest the

suspects. they said was an awesome display of police of sir and the cab driver is expected to be ok. >> checking news around the nation -- a bangladesh native is accused of blowing up the federal reserve and he will be in court this morning. he is expected to plead guilty for taking part in that plot set up by federal authorities with an undercover sting operation. they say he drove a truck filled with what he thought was explosives to the entrance and tried to detonate the bomb. >> federal investigators are expected to say more about what led to a battery fires on two boeing 787's. they said lithium ion batteries are not unsafe for airlines but they need safeguards. the faa is allowing boeing to move the dreamliner from texas

to washington state in the airline says it is taking a plane out of service for the rest of this month. >> preparations are underway in new england for a major winter storm. >> we dodged a bullet last year and maybe it is time for us to pay the piper and now. >> people in rhode island and other states were stocking up on food and other supplies. they could get as much as two feet of snow this weekend. road crews are preparing to deal with the snow and some airlines say they are waving re-booking fees. this storm comes days after the 35th anniversary of the 1970 blizzard that dumped two feet of snow in parts of new england. >> two feet of snow! i cannot imagine. >> it is not out of the question. it could be from boston up to portland, maine. hopefully, new england could

see one day to feed and there could be heavier amounts. >> could that be a record breaker? >> it definitely, it will be close. in 1978, they had two back-to- back storms. around here, we will be impacted by the storm. we're impact with the clouds already rolling into the area, 33 degrees right here. the winds are calm so it feels like the temperature you see on the thermometer. mostly we are seeing 20's across the area. culpeper is 28 n. winchester is 28. 49 degrees was there high- temperature yesterday. it was sunny and beautiful, 49 degrees and their average high this time of year is 45 and i think we will be shy of that today.

the snowfall for this season remains at 1.5 inches and our deficit is 8.3 inches and we will not add to that any time soon. the clouds are rolling in the head of the main system and some moisture is trying to get going in parts of the ohio valley. there's a system down here that will hook up with this cold front end to make a big monster storm. these elements will all come together late tonight and we could see a wintry mix especially north and west of d.c. and it will change to rain on friday. it will dry up by friday evening with blustery conditions but sunshine for saturday. for today, cloudy skies, a 38-44 degrees and tonight, a wintry mix especially northwest 32-36. for more details, we go live to adam caskey. >> the weekend is looking good with bright sunshine but windy.

also, let's think back to three years ago today -- we had over two feet of snow on the ground. snowmageddon moved through. boston and parts of new england will get hammered by this upcoming tcoastal storm. today will be mostly cloudy, 42 and gusty into saturday. the wins will pick up late friday. sunshine and 41 by saturday. it will warm into early next week and high temperatures next week looks like the mid 50's with a possible upshot of rain. warm to start next week but it will come with some moisture. we could use a little moisture. >> the vre train system is operating on schedule this morning. marc trains are good and so is

metrorail. the maryland ballet has been struggling with this accident on the outer loop of the beltway -- the maryland beltway has been struggling with this accident on the outer loop of the beltway. it has been with us for about 40 minutes. on new hampshire avenue heading northbound before the beltway we have an incident on the northbound side and one plane gets by an southbound is open. as far as virginia no problems to report more than 95 out of dale city, just to volume. >> thank you so much, 6:21 and there is a lot of signs pointing to two major airlines getting together and creating the nation's biggest. >> let's check in with rob nelson. >> good morning, signs of a major airline merger -- american

airlines and usair was are reportedly close to a deal that could be announced next week. the result would the the u.s. the biggest airline. post of us will stop delivering mail on saturday and this could save $2 billion. there will still be packages on saturday and the post of us will be open. the trend for food indicates smaller portions in restaurants. small portions are cheaper to make they pay off for restaurants to offer them. there was a decision by a monopoly to drop the iron piece and the new peace is a cat.

>> the wizards finally snapped their 10-game losing streak to the new york next. >> there was a great defensive effort. this block is taken coast to coast and scores the bucket. the wizards finally beat the new york knicks, 106-96. the washington hockey team is in desperate need of a win. they are heading in the right

direction though, they have a game tonight against the penguins in pittsburgh. the penguins beat the caps 6-3 this past sunday. this comes with winning a super bowl -- you get a lot of tv commitments. >> the baltimore ravens players have been on the late-night tv circuit this week and tonight jacobi jones will be on "the jimmy kimmel show." he set the record for longest kickoff return touchdown and most combined yards in a game. >> that is a highlight we will be seeing four years. >> we are very proud. 6:26 and another half-hour of " good morning washington" still ahead. >> the president pick 4 the cia chief is facing tough questions today. >> take a look outside.

it is 31 degrees

we gotta sell the car. where would we even start? get the car. hi howard.

get in. hi, good to see you. start with an actual written offer when selling your car, no strings attached. carmax. start here. "live, and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> president obama's choice to head the cia will face tough questioning today during his senate confirmation hearings. >> the man convicted of killing a federal in turn returns the

court. >> take a look -- oscar is on the red carpet here in the nation's capital. he is outside our studios and straight ahead, a close and personal look at the golden statue. good morning oscar and good morning, washington on this thursday, february 7. >> why are these hollywood man so short? let's check in with meteorologist jacqui jeras. >> those heels can be deceiving. we are getting ready for some interesting weather. this will not be a major event for us in d.c. but it will be major into the northeast. the clouds are already beginning to move in so it will be a cloudy day and a coastal system will bring is a light wintry mix changing to rain on friday. we're talking about maybe 1/4 of an inch over all. in the north, it could be an

historic storm for new england with 1-2 feet + of snow. mostly cloudy skies today and our temperatures moving into the lower 40's this afternoon. >> better news on the maryland beltway -- the accident in silver spring on the outer loop westbound from college park to 270 -- it is on the shoulder so we are starting to see some movement. we have delays back out of college park from 95. there are delays at the four corners area. on new hampshire avenue, northbound, just before the beltway, still accidental activity. >> 6:31 and we began this

morning on capitol hill where the possible cia director will face tough questioning today at his confirmation hearing. >> john brennan is set to go before the senate intelligence committee. john gonzales is live on capitol hill with more >> things are expected to get heated on capitol hill. john brennan will face some tough questions not only from democrats but also from republicans here on capitol hill. usually during these confirmation hearings, you are grilled on just about everything but it appears today, the focus will be on the use of these controversialumnmanned us drones to attack people overseas. thousands of terrorists have been killed along with 300 civilians and now we note that a secret american base exists in saudi arabia used to perform these u.s. drone attacks.

is this program ethical and just, questions that will be aimed directly at the former homeland security adviser described as the architect to this program. we can tell you that this program has grown about 700% since president obama took office. >> that justifies a claim that the drones can be judge, jury, and executioner. >> the white house says it is totally in favor of this program and it has decided it will release important documents to show how it is legal. >> thank you. meanwhile, house democrats are expected to add their voices to the growing debate over guns in america. they will unveil a gun control

plan similar to the one president obama undouble last month. their proposals include bans on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons and universal background checks and preventing gun trafficking but the plan is not expected to go far in the republican-controlled house. we've got a big day ahead in the court as the chandra levy murder case re-fesses. >> ingmar guandique is due back in court today. let's check in with brianne carter. >> ingmar guandique is expected to be back in d.c. and appear in a d.c. court room in a matter of hours. this is for a hearing on new developments in the case. chandra levy disappeared from her apartment back in 2001. about one year later, remains were found in rock creek park and years after that, ingmar guandique was convicted.

we don't know what these new developments may be. the judge has said that the details will remain private for safety reasons. the details remain sealed. they hearing scheduled this afternoon and whether or not the public and media will be allowed into that remains to be seen. attorneys argued yesterday for that. the judge is expected to make a ruling on that sometime before the hearing scheduled this afternoon. >> >>thank you. police are investigating what appears to be a targeted attack against a sub shop owner in lorton. the injured the owner in a firebombing and it is not the first time the shop has been hit. it was set on fire with in the past three years. >> robin roberts has a special announcement on the "good

morning america show" . she has been on medical leave after a bone marrow transplant and has been out for several months. she is in high spirits. she has also been seen on the tahrir square said rehearsing. -- on the times square set rehearsing. >> you don't have to be in the movies to get time with oscar. >> oscar is coming to us. here is a live look outside. these two people are oscar handlers. there are bodyguards. they will chat with us in a little bit about oscar paz a visit to d.c. and how we can all get an opportunity to meet and greet oscar. >> that is impressive. it don't have to start in a big blockbuster. >> very

>> more states are legalizing it and more people are smoking is so we asked how safe is pot compared to cigarettes. what are the health implications? some tough questions and some

interesting answers tonight at 5:00. >> researchers say they have discovered the first cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be a vaccine-resistant. this could help explain why the u.s. had its worst cases of whooping cough in six decades. it used to be more common until a vaccine was introduced in the 1940's. we were shocked and we found it is pretty common. >>you are here and we have doug guild joining us so let's talk about the weather. >> a coastal storm will not be a big to do for us. >> if your into big snow, you could go up to boston. they will get nailed. we are on the fringes of the storm as it gets underway and we

may have some rain and a wintry mix. today as -- today we have a comfortable morning. we have energy across the midwest right now and more across the mid-south and that will merge together later tonight and we will be on the fringes. we may see a wintry mix developed by morning north and west of the city. temperatures will be borderline and we will quickly go above freezing so we will get warmer about the time the precipitation moves out during the midday and afternoon tomorrow. it will become wendy with clearing late tomorrow night and today, just some clout in this and tonight, the clouds and tomorrow morning, we will keep our eye on the nor'easter. >> we started of busy in maryland but now virginia has a

problem. this is on 395, very slow coming off the belt way. it is a crash between edsall road and this is accent activity -- accidental activity between edsall road and duke street. the maryland aa, college park to georgia avenue, an accident was reported in the back up. >> 6:42 and 31 degrees. oscar has come to town so let's take a live look outside we knew cynne simpson was a star and now it is official. the tears are flowing. we will talk more about oscar and why he is here and where you can get your picture taken with oscar. i got it when we could download an

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>> ashley judd has not made a decision whether to run for kentucky senate. that seed is being held by mitch mcconnell and she is in the spotlight about it. she was targeted in an attack ad. >> i am committed to president obama and vice president joe biden. >> right-leaning group american crossroads released this at supporting the president. her publicist has said that ashley judd thank senator mcconnell and their-allies for all the attention. her decision has not been made just yet. it is time for us to check in with a lovely cynne simpson who i believe has just received her

first oscar. congratulations. >> what a day, i could not have done without you and jacqui jeras and all my colleagues at abc 7. you are amazing to work with. everyone is getting an opportunity to meet and greet oscar while he is in d.c. making a special nationwide road trip. i've got angie with me and you are handling oscar. >> yes, we are doing a road trip across the country. we started in new york and are making our way in our rv across the country so he -- so fans can meet them. >> you also have been 24-hour security. >> true, i like to make sure that you get too close oscar you will be taken downtown. you are not allowed to kiss oscar but you can hold them. you can come down to the meridian between 5-7:00 today but you cannot kiss oscar. >> my bad about that is frowned

upon. >> i will have tough questions to answer later today. this is an opportunity for people to get a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity. >> if yes, this is the first time the academy has allowed oscar to be a hands on tool for people to take pictures with. we have done tours before where you can see oscar but this time you can touch him and hold in and take a picture with them. >> he is have the. >> 8.5 pounds. >> why are these hollywood man so short? >> righht? >> he is a lot taller than tom cruise. he is 3 inches taller. >> there you go, he is almost amazonian. that is a look out here at the oscar. we will keep an eye on him throughout the day and we will travel around town and where can people see you?

>> we have a happy hour at 5-7 tonight at la meridien. >> do not kiss oscar. >> cynne simpson was caught up in a moment. well done. >> they 0.5 pounds, i had no idea. >> doug hill should meet an oscar for his meteorological forecast. >> i know, now i'm depressed. behind me, they look at dawn's early light. the sun will be up at 7:00 a to this morning. -- 7:00 08 this morning. we will be right on the fringes

of this big storm tomorrow. it is colder north and west and at the end of the day, we will watch these elements are to come together. satellite shows one area across iowa and another south across georgia and alabama and they will press to the east and it is a classic set up of the area of low pressure off the california coast becoming the primary storm but it will develop far enough out sure and just far enough that the threat will be for major winter weather to our north but not for us. we could get a light wintry mix only. skies remain cloudy today just some rain and a light wintry mix tomorrow and windy and cold into saturday but warming up next week. >> thanks doug.

the time is 6:49 and we will be right back with a live

>> good thursday morning but a great thursday morning to all of you. we are so excited, we have big news this morning. it is fair to say the most major

announcement about robin's return to "good morning america." we will tell you when she will be sitting to my immediate left that is next right here on "good morning america." >> we are looking forward to that. says a club 53 in time for your thursday express'. >> john brennan, the president pick to become the next cia director will be on the hot seat today on capitol hill facing tough questions from republicans and democrats. the focus is expected to be on the u.s. drones that have killed thousands of terrorists but have taken the lives of more than 300 civilians. >> ingmar guandique is expected to be back in d.c. to appear in the courtroom later this afternoon. the man convicted of killing chandra levy is expected to be here for a hearing for what is being called developments in this case. in terms of the details, that is still sealed.

there will be a hearing later this afternoon and a ruling by the judge about whether the public and the media can be allowed in. >> a nato helicopter crashed in eastern afghanistan this morning and a spokesman said there were two members on board the helicopter but they were not seriously injured and have been rescued. a taliban spokesman says there fighter shot the aircraft down but nato says they cannot confirm. >> thank you. >> president obama is joining hundreds of political and religious leaders at the washington prayer breakfast. >> kerry washington stops by "katie" for a chat and will have a big surprise. >> there was a power ball winner. >> you have a chance to get up

close and personal with oscar. when the golden statute makes an appearance at the la meridien hotel in dallas -- in arlington tonight between 5-7. let's check in with adam caskey. >> not a bad today, a typical february morning, 32 degrees here in rockville. mostly cloudy conditions today with high temperatures around 40 degrees and tonight we could see a brief and let wintry mix especially northwest of washington. it does not look like a big deal. it is just a glancing blow from the storm system that will affect new england once we get through tomorrow, we have a beautiful weekend to look forward to. >> breezy conditions will be the only issue on saturday.

otherwise, lots of sunshine and 41 degrees and 49 by sunday. a good chance of rain on monday and then again on wednesday. >> let's start in virginia, coming from newington through to the beltway, it is jammed because of a crash between edsall road and the duke street. we have been busy on the maryland aa leaving college park the delays are from route 1. -- the maryland the beltway. >> thank you so much. that will do it for "good morning." >> you can always get continuing local news on newschannel 8. we will see you at noon.

we gotta sell the car. where would we even start? get the car. hi howard. get in. hi, good to see you. start with an actual written offer when selling your car, no strings attached. carmax. start here.